Isaac Robinson is the man credited with bringing Thanksgiving Day to Norfolk Island. He is definitely an interesting man and, in some ways, mysterious, because the various ‘facts’ we have about him don’t always agree.
Thanksgiving Day produce sale, Norfolk Island. The proceeds are given to local charities
I write more about this delightful tradition in a blog post here: Doing things differently Doing things differently – Thaenksgiwen Dieh, and I would recommend you read that first. This post is a bit more about the man himself. As a ‘stranger’ he was accepted into the island community, becoming highly respected, and could be thought of, perhaps, as a small ‘r’ renaissance man, with evidence of a broader education than was available on-island at the time.
Known as Ike, in 1860 he arrived on the island at the age of 36,[i] having travelled from Tasmania on board a whaling ship. While Ike was born in Tasmania on 28 June 1837 (which would make him much younger than 36 when he arrived!), some people believe he may have been educated in England, such was his keen interest in botany. He certainly had sufficient standing in scientific circles to enable him to send many plant specimens to scientists in Europe.
He held some important offices on the island, including (but probably not an exhaustive list): US Consular Agent, Postmaster, and Registrar of births, deaths and marriages, Lloyd’s agent, secretary to the Council, councillor, and secretary of the Horticultural Society. He also worked as a sometime correspondent. We know this from a report in the Illustrated Sydney News, on 11 April 1885, which says:
‘A pleasant trip of less than two days, under the careful guidance of Captain Hutton, of the Colonial Government steamer Thetis, brought the good ship to anchor in Sydney Bay, where she was speedily boarded by Christians and Quintals, by Tomegs and McCoys, and by an old press friend, Mr Isaac Robinson, who years ago became enamoured with the people and their home.’
Postage stamps to commemorate the Robinsonia fern
The same author mentions that Mr Robinson had recently forwarded to Baron Von Mueller a specimen of a bird-nest fern (known as a crispy bird’s nest fern) which that distinguished botanist pronounced new to science, naming it Robinsonii in Ike’s honour.
In 2018, local artist Mary Butterfield was responsible for designing a postage stamp issue in honour of this rare plant and of Isaac Robinson. Today the plant is called Asplenium austrasicum f. robinsonii or Robinsonia fern. While it was widespread in the past, it is now apparently uncommon.
Ike married Hannah Quintal on 12 June 1865 and together they lived in the former Surgeon’s Quarters, which today houses the Lion’s Club photography exhibition. From there he would have had an excellent view of the comings and goings of the small port, perfect for his roles as Lloyd’s and US Consular Agents.
What is less well known is that he also has a marine algae named after him. Marine algae researcher, Alan Millar writes:
‘The first alga to be described based on a Norfolk Island holotype was the red alga Plocamium hamatum J. Agardh. Details of the specimens filed in the Agardh Herbarium at Lund in Sweden (Per Lassen, pers. comm.) reveal that a Dr Falconer, who may have been a physician on Norfolk, and Mr Isaac Robinson, a known Norfolk identity, collected and sent their material to the English Botanist J.E. Gray, who in turn passed it on to the leading phycologist of the day, J. Agardh, who eventually published the new species in 1876.’
He goes on:
‘Thought to have been educated in England, his botanical skills gave him sufficient standing in the scientific community that the then Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, J.H. Maiden, and a colleague, J.L. Boorman, accepted his invitation to visit the island in November 1902 (Maiden 1903). Their combined collections are presently filed at the National Herbarium of New South Wales (NSW) and include species of the genera Galaxaura, Liagora, Champia, Jania and Padina (see below). These specimens would most likely have been collected from the reef and beach at Slaughter Bay.
‘… Fittingly, the red alga Enantiocladia robinsonii (J. Agardh) Falkenberg (1901), the type locality of which is Norfolk Island, as [sic] named in his honour.’
It would be fascinating to follow the breadcrumbs of Ike’s contribution to botany across the museums and herbariums of Europe. I am certain there is much more to be discovered about this fascinating man who made a life for himself in such a remote location in the South Pacific all this years ago.
Ike is immortalised in the naming of a fishing ground, according to researcher Joshua Nash. Nash talks about Robinson and a placename Ar Pine fer Robinsons (the pine of Robinson, or Robinson’s pine)[ii]:
‘Robinson came to Norfolk as a teacher for the public school. The well-known pine was located on his property in the Steels Point area though Robinson lived at Rocky Point. The tree in Robinson’s paddock was felled years ago. Like many of the trees and landmarks on Norfolk, this pine was used in lining up several offshore fishing grounds but when they were cut down, many good offshore fishing locations were lost.’
Sadly, Ike died aboard the steamer Malaita on 19 November 1912 while travelling to Sydney, and thence to England where he was supposedly going to claim his inheritance of the Marquess of Ripon (Millar). He was buried at sea. The Evening News reported the event:
‘Captain Millington reports that all was quiet in the group on leaving Vila, the island shipping port, on November 13. During the trip across, on the morning of November 19, an aged passenger, Mr Isaac Robinson, an old resident of Norfolk Island, died suddenly of heart failure and senile decay. Deceased, accompanied by his daughter Mrs Rossiter, was coming to Sydney on holiday. He was buried at sea in latitude 31, 12 south, longitude 150, 53 east, the funeral service being conducted by Rev Crombie of Vila Church of England.’ 23 November 1912, p. 8
The Daily Telegraph also reported his death on 25 November 1912, p. 6, saying, ‘Deceased was very popular in the island community, and his death is universally deplored’.
Many descendants of Hannah and Isaac Robinson live on Norfolk Island to this day, and I am sure will be raising their voices in thanksgiving at the annual Thanksgiving Day service, a tradition that has been attributed to this man.
Isaac Dunsmure Robinson, represented on a Norfolk Island stamp in 1986
References
[i] Millar A. J. K. (1999). Marine benthic algae of Norfolk Island, South Pacific. Australian Systematic Botany,12, 479–547. https://doi.org/10.1071/SB98004
[ii] Nash, J. (2011). Insular Toponymies: Pristine place-naming on Norfolk Island, South Pacific and Dudley Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Thesis.
